We all want our brand to be at the forefront of our target audience’s mind. The one that everyone recognises and chooses over the rest. That’s easier said than done, right? Here, I tackle social media and show you how to dominate this channel, while amplifying a consistent brand message.

Use brand advocatesDo you currently share content through your employees, partners, resellers or distributors? If you are not already doing this, this is my first simple suggestion. Not only will this keep your advocates fully informed of your brand and raise their social media profile, but it will also expand your potential reach. Use these valuable followers, connections and acquaintances. By sharing your content through these intermediaries you can amplify your message many times over.

Use a social media collaboration platformThere are many to choose from, each tailoring to different needs. These include Hootsuite, Buffer, Falcon Social and, of course, my very own socialondemand, to name but a few. The benefits of using one of these vary greatly. For our customers in the IT sector, socialondemand enables users to create posts, decide upon which social network(s) and advocate(s) the post is suitable for, as well as select a time and date to schedule/discontinue posts. This post will then be sent to their relevant advocate(s), based on the type of content they want to share themselves (yes, this process is critical). These advocates – employees and/or sales partners – can publish/schedule the content to any of their social networks. It’s simple, straightforward and allows a consistent brand message to be created.

Be socialSo now that you are encouraging your brand advocates to share your posts, what is the next step? It’s all about social selling. You have increased your brand’s exposure, and it is time to use social media to communicate directly with your target audience. Reply to a comment, or start up a new conversation, to get yourself noticed, and encourage influential thought-leaders to share your content and get further recognised.

Track resultsA key element to social collaboration is understanding what you are doing right and what you could be doing better. You need to measure your performance, and understand which posts are receiving the most attention, and exactly who is sharing your content, whether that be brand advocates or thought-leaders you have built a relationship with. Social networks often have their own analytics features available, but they normally only provide basic information. Track your individual posts performance and you’ll discover valuable details including: number of shares from brand advocates, likes/shares on social media, and downloads. Only with this information can you make the necessary changes to improve your performance going forward.

I hope that you’ve got the message. Use a social media collaboration platform to encourage key brand advocates to share your content, helping you to amplify your brand messages to a much wider audience. And don’t forget to measure your results, enabling changes where necessary. Good luck!